480. The Westernised Mind

In Western life when a Man is confronted with the alternative of life or death, he will try his best to overcome it by his own ingenuity. When he fails, he gives up. He rarely, if ever, turns to God for relief through a prayer. It is that Mind and its individuality that has achieved what we know as the splendours of human accomplishment. Most Indians settled in the West do not want their child to grow up there. If possible, they send the children to India for education so that they might miss the evils of Western society during their formative years. We Indians are rightly enamoured of the Western life, seeing its vast accomplishment. There was an army chief who constantly talked to his family about his high school teacher in Madras whose influence on his life was incalculable. But he would not meet that teacher during his visits to Madras. Once when he was in Madras his wife insisted on the phone that he should visit his teacher. The Army officer had his teacher brought to the airport so that he might meet him. Loyalty is there, but its expressions vary.

There was a Central Minister of State who was devoted to his college professor. When he visited Tamil Nadu, he went to the house of his erstwhile professor to see him. His devotion had the full favour of our tradition. This professor retired, but wished for reemployment. The Minister - student was dedicated to him and was willing to secure it for him. In the whole of India at that time there were two centres - one at Trichy and another in north India - that could employ him. But the professor was unwilling to move away from his family. All the efforts of the Minister were in vain. This professor was a devotee of the Mother, but when issues arose, his faith would shift to other things. A devotee suggested to him to do some service by collecting ten subscriptions for one of Mother's journals. The professor frowned and declined, saying, "It is wrong for you to ask me to collect subscriptions."

The devotee renewed his appeal for service when the posts were filled up in the two centres. The professor accepted to try reluctantly. No subscription ever came out of his efforts, but one day a letter came to the devotee from the professor, saying, "A new centre has been created in my town and I am awarded the post. This job comes to me not in recognition of my services or by the devotion of my student in the Ministry. It is purely Mother's Grace." Man is an adept in turning away from Grace. If we look upon the past events of our lives, we will see NOW how many times we have actively declined Grace. After the Force has descended, I am fond of repeating, it is God who is after MAN.